|
|
|
Funds from a federal grant could help dozens of SUNY colleges, including Herkimer County Community College, to extend or develop programs needed to help unemployed workers to get back into the workforce.
On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer announced he is pushing for the U.S. Department of Labor to approve the $50 million grant which would provide the necessary funds for this consortium of SUNY colleges to make this a reality.
“We all saw the June unemployment figures and they were not good. It was a grim reminder we need to double our efforts for job creation,” said Schumer, D-NY, during a conference call with reporters. “There’s also a high amount of companies trying to fill positions. They are saying ‘I need workers in these area of skill’ and some are very high-end skills, but they can’t find the workers.”
Schumer said with the help of community colleges, unemployed workers can get the training they need to fill these high-demand positions.
Twenty-six community colleges, three colleges of technology and a four-year college, including HCCC, Fulton-Montgomery Community College and Mohawk Valley Community College, are participating in the SUNY Alliance. These institutions would work hand-in-hand with other SUNY schools and over 100 businesses throughout the state in order to develop job training programs.
Schumer said this would build on “New York’s tradition of job-producing community colleges.”
The grant the alliance is applying for is through the Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grants Program.
“It’s a competitive grant. We don’t know what’s going to happen,” HCCC President Ann Marie Murray said during a telephone interview on Wednesday. “We’re looking for all sorts of opportunities to enhance offerings and to find funding for curriculum development.”
HCCC’s proposal is a $1.1 million plan that would develop curriculum in health information technology and quality assurance. Murray said the college reached out to the local health and manufacturing industries to see what they needed from employees and will develop programs based on that feedback. Bassett Healthcare and Remington Arms are among the companies that will be working with the college through this program, said Murray.
Rebecca Ruffing, HCCC director of public relations, said Wednesday another part of their proposal is a readiness program “for workers who want to enter one of those programs, but might be lacking the requisite skills such as math or English.” Murray said SUNY thought this needed to be a part of the overall proposal, and was eventually incorporated into the overall grant.
Schumer said an example of how these programs would work could be found at Finger Lakes Community College where there is a viticulture, or grapes to wine, program. He said because of the skills taught in that program, its students are now all employed at wineries.
Schumer said the grant could be a huge boost to Trade Adjustment Assistance eligible workers who will benefit from worker training programs, as well as community colleges across the state. Overall, he said the programs could help retrain 6,000 to 8,000 unemployed workers who have been dislocated by foreign trade for new high-skill, high-wage jobs in several growth sectors in New York.
While programs like these already exist at some college campuses, Schumer said what is different this time is the funds available. “Our community colleges have gotten big cuts. SUNY has cut back dramatically. This will help keep the programs going,” he said. “In addition to providing focused job training to help New Yorkers find jobs, these funds will be used to make capital improvements to community colleges that will benefit the thousands of students they serve. They will be used to fill labs with state of the art technology being used in local businesses.”
Schumer said a decision should be made within the next couple of months, and that funds would be available by October.
Funds from a federal grant could help dozens of SUNY colleges, including Herkimer County Community College, to extend or develop programs needed to help unemployed workers to get back into the workforce.
On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer announced he is pushing for the U.S. Department of Labor to approve the $50 million grant which would provide the necessary funds for this consortium of SUNY colleges to make this a reality.
“We all saw the June unemployment figures and they were not good. It was a grim reminder we need to double our efforts for job creation,” said Schumer, D-NY, during a conference call with reporters. “There’s also a high amount of companies trying to fill positions. They are saying ‘I need workers in these area of skill’ and some are very high-end skills, but they can’t find the workers.”
Schumer said with the help of community colleges, unemployed workers can get the training they need to fill these high-demand positions.
Twenty-six community colleges, three colleges of technology and a four-year college, including HCCC, Fulton-Montgomery Community College and Mohawk Valley Community College, are participating in the SUNY Alliance. These institutions would work hand-in-hand with other SUNY schools and over 100 businesses throughout the state in order to develop job training programs.
Schumer said this would build on “New York’s tradition of job-producing community colleges.”
The grant the alliance is applying for is through the Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grants Program.
“It’s a competitive grant. We don’t know what’s going to happen,” HCCC President Ann Marie Murray said during a telephone interview on Wednesday. “We’re looking for all sorts of opportunities to enhance offerings and to find funding for curriculum development.”
HCCC’s proposal is a $1.1 million plan that would develop curriculum in health information technology and quality assurance. Murray said the college reached out to the local health and manufacturing industries to see what they needed from employees and will develop programs based on that feedback. Bassett Healthcare and Remington Arms are among the companies that will be working with the college through this program, said Murray.
Rebecca Ruffing, HCCC director of public relations, said Wednesday another part of their proposal is a readiness program “for workers who want to enter one of those programs, but might be lacking the requisite skills such as math or English.” Murray said SUNY thought this needed to be a part of the overall proposal, and was eventually incorporated into the overall grant.
Schumer said an example of how these programs would work could be found at Finger Lakes Community College where there is a viticulture, or grapes to wine, program. He said because of the skills taught in that program, its students are now all employed at wineries.
Schumer said the grant could be a huge boost to Trade Adjustment Assistance eligible workers who will benefit from worker training programs, as well as community colleges across the state. Overall, he said the programs could help retrain 6,000 to 8,000 unemployed workers who have been dislocated by foreign trade for new high-skill, high-wage jobs in several growth sectors in New York.
While programs like these already exist at some college campuses, Schumer said what is different this time is the funds available. “Our community colleges have gotten big cuts. SUNY has cut back dramatically. This will help keep the programs going,” he said. “In addition to providing focused job training to help New Yorkers find jobs, these funds will be used to make capital improvements to community colleges that will benefit the thousands of students they serve. They will be used to fill labs with state of the art technology being used in local businesses.”
Schumer said a decision should be made within the next couple of months, and that funds would be available by October.
